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Ceteris Paribus

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

The Latin phrase ‘ceteris paribus’, which translates as ‘other things the same’, is much invoked by economists. Its popularity stems from its prominent use by Alfred Marshall ([1890] 1920, pp. xiv-xv, 366–70), who invented the metaphor of ‘the pound called Coeteris Paribus’ – pound being used here in the same sense as in impoundment – in which are imprisoned ‘those disturbing causes, whose wanderings happen to be inconvenient’ (1920, p. 366).

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 1st edition, 1987. Edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman

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Whitaker, J.K. (1987). Ceteris Paribus. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_346-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_346-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Ceteris Paribus
    Published:
    16 March 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_346-2

  2. Original

    Ceteris Paribus
    Published:
    26 November 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_346-1